GB2266048A - A brush - Google Patents

Abstract

A brush, e.g. a toothbrush, shoe brush or scrubbing brush has a base (1) and a plurality of bristles extending therefrom. The bristles are arranged in rows (7) of shorter bristles alternating between rows (6) of longer bristles to facilitate cleaning of crevices between eg teeth and plaque removal. <IMAGE>

Description

A Brush The present invention relates to a brush having a base and a plurality of bristles extending therefrom arranged in rows, for example 9 toothbrush, a shoe brush or a scrubbing brush.

Known brushes having bristles of equal length tend to avoid cracks and crevices during normal use of the brush. In order to gain access to cracks or crevices, the brush usually has to be tilted so that the bristles at one end of the brush only are used, e. g. when using a toothbrush to clean between teeth at the front of the mouth, or when cleaning in the crack between the sole and upper of a shoe.

A toothbrush is known in which the two outer rows of bristles extending longitudinally of the head are slightly longer than the inner, longitudinally-extending rows of bristles. This feature is partially effective when the toothbrush is moved along the ridge of the teeth in a forwards and backwards direction; the longer bristles on either side of the toothbrush head come into contact with the sides of the teeth and the gums.

However, the longer bristles are not particularly effective in cleaning the more inaccessible parts of the surfaces of the teeth, i. e. the curved portions of adjacent teeth.

An object of the present invention is to provide a brush which is effective for brushing in gaps and recesses without undue manipulation of the brush.

The invention provides a brush as claimed in claim 1.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of the teeth of one jaw with a conventional toothbrush, Figure 2 is a side view of the head of a toothbrush in accordance with the invention, Figure 3 is a plan view of the toothbrush of Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1, but with a toothbrush in accordance with the invention.

In Figure 1 a conventional toothbrush comprising a base 1 with bristles 2 of equal length is shown cleaning the sides of a set of teeth 3. As can be seen, the ends of the bristles 2 tend to ride along the outer ridges of the teeth and do not penetrate into the recesses 4 defined by the curved portions of adjacent teeth, or into any gaps between the teeth. The same applies when the toothbrush is used to clean the inside surface of the teeth. The recesses 4 are virtually inaccessible to the bristles 2 unless these parts are approached with particular care by the bristles at the end of the head 1 only.

The toothbrush in accordance with the invention as shown in Figures 2 and 3 comprises a base 5 having transverse rows 6 of longer bristles (shown as full circles in Fig.

3) alternating with transverse rows 7 of shorter bristles (shown as dots in Fig. 3). In the embodiment shown there are two rows 7 of shorter bristles between the rows 6 of longer bristles. This corresponds substantially to the average width of a tooth.

As can be seen from Figure 2 the height different "h" between the bristles of the longer and shorter rows 6 and 7 is preferably from 0. 5-1. 5mm.

As can be seen from Figure 4 the longer bristles of the rows 7 enter into the recesses and gaps between the teeth while the shorter bristles of the rows 6 clean the ridges or outside surfaces of the teeth. This occurs automatically because of the alternate length of bristles, and does not require any particular manipulation by the user. Thus, cleaning and plaque removal is facilitated. The toothbrush is also excellent for massaging the gums.

Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

For example, instead of two rows 6 of shorter bristles between single rows 7 of longer bristles there could be three rows of shorter bristles 6, e. g. for an adult with large teeth, and even two adjacent rows 7 of longer bristles.

In the embodiment shown the bristles of the rows 6 and 7 are arranged in groups also to form four rows of bristles extending longitudinally of the brush. The number of the longitudinally-extending rows may be varied, e. g. two for small children, three for older children, four or even five for adults.

The invention is not limited to toothbrushes, but could be used with other brushes where the access to gaps and crevices is required, e. g. shoe brushes and scrubbing brushes. Here, the numbers of each of the alternating rows 6 and 7 may be altered to suit the particular purpose of the brush.

Claims (9)

Claims:

1. A brush having a base and a plurality of bristles extending therefrom, wherein the bristles are arranged in rows extending transversely of the base and the length of the bristles alternates between longer and shorter rows of bristles in the longitudinal direction of the brush.

2. A brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein two or three rows of shorter bristles alternate with one or two rows of longer bristles.

3. A brush as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the difference in length between the rows of shorter and longer bristles is from 0. 5 to 1. 5mm.

4. A brush as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bristles of the transverse rows are aligned to form longitudinally-extending rows of bristles.

5. A brush as claimed in claim 4, wherein there are two, three or four longitudinally-extending rows of bristles.

6. A brush as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and being a toothbrush.

7. A brush as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 and being a shoe brush.

8. A brush as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 and being a scrubbing brush.

9. A brush substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.